The preparation of poly(glycidyl acrylate)–polypyrrole gel-electrolyte and its application in dye-sensitized solar cells

A microporous hybrid of poly(glycidyl acrylate)–polypyrrole (PGA–PPy) was synthesized by a two-step solution polymerization. Using this hybrid as polymer host, a gel-electrolyte with high conductivity of 12.83 mS cm−1 was prepared. The researches by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR), and cyclic voltammetry (CV) show that the microporous structure and functional groups for PGA allows the higher absorbency and good ionic salt tolerance for the electrolyte, the introduction of PPy causes a lower charge-transfer resistance and higher electrocatalytic activity for the I3−/I− redox reaction for the electrolyte. Based on the electrolyte, a dye-sensitized solar cell with a light-to-electrical energy conversion efficiency of 5.03% is achieved, under illumination with a simulated solar light of 100 mW cm−2 (AM 1.5).